Blog

On Friday, 25th of November, I will be participating in a discussion at Birkbeck’s School of Business, Economics and Informatics at the University of London. (for more information about the event, click here.)  There I will talk about what I have learned about how teens are using technology to cause harm to their peers, along with prevention and response strategies for adults who work with them. Other participants include Iain Coyne (Nottingham University), Andy Phippen (University of Plymouth), Jette Kofoed and Jessica Ringrose (University of London), and Peter Smith (University of London). The discussion will be moderated by Dr. Andreas Liefooghe who heads the Department of Organizational Psychology at Birkbeck. I am looking forward to this interdisciplinary and international panel. We can learn a lot from one another and cyberbullying is a problem that crosses borders.  Stay tuned to this blog for a follow-up post with information gleaned from the conference.

Much of our work over the last several years has focused on identifying the consequences associated with cyberbullying. We are especially interested in offline behaviors or experiences, as well as links to delinquency and school problems. And we are concerned with the outcomes of both targets and those who engage in cyberbullying. One particular problem behavior that we have found to be linked to cyberbullying is substance use. According to the University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future Study, about 21% of high school seniors said they used marijuana and about 19% smoked cigarettes in the previous 30 days. About 41% of the seniors said they consumed alcohol in the last 30 days. Experimentation with illicit substances appears to be relatively common in high school, though a significant proportion of this population abstains from use.

We published a paper in 2008 which found the students who reported substance use (consumed alcohol or smoked marijuana) were significantly more likely to be involved in cyberbullying (both as a victim and offender – but the offender relationship was stronger) – see page 143 this paper. I also just quickly ran the relationship with our most recent data (about 4000 students from last school year) and found that those who used marijuana were 1.5 times more likely to be the victim of cyberbullying and 1.7 times more likely to engage in cyberbullying (both in the last 30 days while controlling for gender and age). Very similar findings were found for traditional bullying as well. So there clearly is a relationship between substance use and experience with bullying and cyberbullying.

It is important to acknowledge that since we have not yet been able to conduct a longitudinal study where we follow the same individuals over time, it is impossible for us to say that experience with cyberbullying causes teens to use drugs or consume alcohol. It is just as possible that using drugs causes teens to cyberbully others. All we can say is that the two or more behaviors are connected in some way. In fact it is quite likely that both cyberbullying and substance use are both related to some third variable (such as family problems or stressful life events). That said, this is additional evidence that what happens online is related to offline behaviors (and perhaps vice-versa). As always, there is more research that needs to be done.

One of the first things we learned in our earliest cyberbullying studies was that targets were not telling adults about their experiences. Even today, very few students who are cyberbullied talk with adults about what is going on. The concern we have heard from adolescents time and time again is that they are afraid to tell adults because they think they will be blamed or their cell phones or computers will be taken away. They are embarrassed or scared and overall they just think things will get worse for them if they tell an adult. Well, whose fault is it that teens don’t feel comfortable talking to us about their experiences? One clue: it’s not *their* fault. We as adults need to take the initiative to learn more about what teens are doing online (the good and the bad) and equip ourselves with knowledge and tools to prevent and successfully respond to cyberbullying when it happens.

Today starts a four day online discussion of Bullying Beyond the Schoolyard on the Education Week Teacher Web site.  If you have read our book, please join in the conversation!  There are a lot of great strategies out there and a discussion involving our book can help stimulate other innovative ideas. Only when we come together to effectively respond to cyberbullying will targets open up and share their experiences with us.  We look forward to reading your insights on the Education Week Teacher Discussion Forum.

Technology is great and we know from our research that the vast majority of teens are using it safely and responsibly. But a few are creating problems for themselves or others by what they post online. That’s why we’ve partnered with Jostens to produce a number of useful resources for you to educate yourself or the teens in your life about the pitfalls associated with unwise postings. “Pause Before You Post” is a movement to remind students to carefully consider the consequences of posting something online. Whether they are posting something private about themselves or something hurtful about someone else, the costs can be steep. Here is a short video that introduces the campaign. You can also find a number of other short videos that feature Sameer and I talking about various issues related to teen technology use here.

One of the most popular documents we wrote for this program was “A Student’s Guide to Personal Publishing” which is available here. Jostens has put together a Pause Before You Post Kit that includes posters, pins, flyers, a DVD and CD with videos and curriculum based on our research. For more information about the kit, talk to your local Jostens representative or visit the Jostens web site. Since October is bullying awareness month, it is a good time to remind students to pause before they post!

Much of our work to teach adults about what teens are doing online is directed toward educators or parents, but increasingly we are working with law enforcement officers – especially those assigned to a school setting (school resource or liaison officers). Like the others, police officers often find themselves in a difficult situation when confronted with a cyberbullying incident because of unfamiliarity with the technology or ambiguity in currently laws not designed to address such behaviors. Despite deficiencies in the law, most officers recognize that their role goes beyond simply enforcement. This is especially true for school-based officers who are mentors, educators, investigators, first responders, and so much more. Even when it comes to responding to cyberbullying or other teen technology misuse, law enforcement officers should be encouraged to use their discretion to “handle” the particular situation in an informal and creative way, when appropriate. Threats of arrest or detention don’t usually deter students from misbehaving, because they often feel invincible or able to elude the law. But the student who develops a strong bond to an officer will no doubt follow the law voluntarily in order to avoid disappointing their mentor. This is related to the broader issue of the importance of developing a caring and respectful climate at school—one in which the school law enforcement officer is a contributing part.

Over the last couple of years, we have formally surveyed approximately 1,000 law enforcement officers (including over 300 school resource officers) to better understand their unique perspectives concerning cyberbullying and other online behavioral problems. I will be presenting some of this research at the annual meeting of the Midwestern Criminal Justice Association later this week in Chicago. In general, over 85% of the officers surveyed said that cyberbullying was a serious concern that warrants the response of law enforcement. Almost 90% of the school resource officers had dealt with a cyberbullying case “sometimes” or “often.” Interestingly, though, about 25% of the school resource officers and over 40% of the traditional law enforcement officers didn’t know if their state had a law specific to cyberbullying. If you are one of those people, see our summary here.

So what we have learned in our preliminary research and discussions with law enforcement officers is that they realize they have a role to play, but they need more training. More and more states are passing laws on bullying and cyberbullying and while most of the legislation focuses on the responsibilities of educators, many school administrators are turning to their law enforcement partner for assistance. If you are a school-based officer, then you are in the right place to learn about these issues. If you are an educator or parent, you might want to pass our site on to them so they have a resource to turn to.

If we want to stop cyberbullying, all of the adults who interact with students need to recognize it as something worth stopping. That means we should talk with adolescents about online responsibility and integrity and intervene when we see or hear something inappropriate. Again, that doesn’t mean we should arrest and formally sanction those who engage in bullying. We have long argued that most cyberbullying cases should be handled informally. I believe that law enforcement officers should be in on these efforts as well. We need to remember that the primary goal is to get the bullying, no matter where it is happening, to stop. The more we accept that as our underlying mission, the easier it will become to see what needs to be done.